Dolphins Sneak Into Wild Card Spot With 16-13 MNF Win Over Vikings

The New York Jets may be approaching every game with the hopes of just avoiding embarrassment, but the Miami Dolphins had much more on the line as the two teams matched up on Monday Night Football. Even with that being the case, the Jets were able to jump out to an early lead that they maintained throughout majority of the game. Unfortunately for them, the Dolphins poured it on in the fourth and ended up getting the 16-14 victory.

With the win, the Dolphin creep into the final Wild Card spot in the AFC, though they have plenty more to do if they want to make the playoffs. They still have Kansas City and divisional-foe Buffalo breathing down their neck.

For the Jets on Monday, Geno Smith was given the start. However, he certainly wasn’t given much of a chance to air anything out. He threw the ball just 13 times on the evening, completing only 7 attempts for 65 yards. Instead, it was obvious that the Jets were much more content handing the ball off to Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory. Johnson finished the evening with 105 yards on 17 carries, while Ivory had 62 yards on 16 attempts.

For the Dolphins, Ryan Tannehill was much more active than his counterpart under center. He was 25/35 for 235 yards on the evening. However, he failed to find the end zone, but instead had an interception in the second half. Luckily for him, he was able to hold things together on a chilly night in East Rutherford.

The Jets have now lost two in a row and fall to just 2-10 on the season. After last weeks loss to the Bills, plenty of talk around the NFL was where Rex Ryan would end up after this season. It’s obvious that Ryan has had his chance, and his time may be up after an unsuccessful tenure in New York.

Even though they got the win, the Dolphins may want to wait before they get too excited. They obviously had their struggles with a Jets team that has struggled all season long. The Dolphins will also play a tough Baltimore team next weekend, followed by divisional leaders New England the following weekend. If they can find a a way to muster up at least one win during that stretch, they’ll finish the season with back to back games against the lackluster Vikings and Jets.

Right now, the Dolphins currently find themselves at 80/1 odds to win the Super Bowl. That’s much better than the Jets, who are already statistically eliminated from the playoffs.

The playoff picture is heating up as we near the end of the season, so be sure to check back with sportspicks.com before the Week 14 matchups, and throughout the NFL playoffs.

While the Dolphins will face Baltimore in Week 14, the Jets will hope to get a win against the 5-7 Vikings.